br>Anyone who's followed the changes to Wiard will know that you can now get Wiard 300 modules with bantam jacks and balanced impedance outputs.

The older style Blacet panels (with panel mounted jacks) can also be converted, as there is enough clearance between the jacks, as well as the jacks and the rails.

I just got my 2 Binary Zones back from Graham Hinton who drilled out the jack holes to a slightly larger size for me and am resoldering the panel connections.

You can get balanced impedance outputs by adding a resistor between the ring and sleeve connectors that matches the original resistor that is on the output. br> br>

br>jamb

br>yes, this is good to know. i spoke to graham and cary about this. however being from the states, this is a bit tricky to ship modules overseas back and forth for conversion.

for now, i'm having graham make some custom bantam to 3.5mm patch cables. he sells them for pretty cheap: Ã‚Â£3-50 each for 1ft and 2ft, and Ã‚Â£4-00 for 3ft. br> br>

br>MrTea

br>Do you mind if I ask how much Graham charged you for this work? It looks like I'm going to be getting some Blacet and would love to have them fitted with bantam jacks. br> br>

br>slow_riot

br>I can't remember exactly but like all of Graham's work it was extremely reasonable. He even supplied me with the right value resistors for the outputs. Oh, and the FPs sat on my shelf for a month before I got around to sending them and Graham sent them back more or less the same day he received them! br> br>

br>flts

br>Necrobumping this because of acute interest. Can any / some / most new Blacet DIY modules be built with Bantam jacks by drilling the panel holes somewhat bigger? Or do they generally use PCB mount jacks these days? br> br>

br>Cat-A-Tonic

br>

flts wrote:

Necrobumping this because of acute interest. Can any / some / most new Blacet DIY modules be built with Bantam jacks by drilling the panel holes somewhat bigger? Or do they generally use PCB mount jacks these days?

I imagine the HexZone would be difficult on account of the parallel mounting.
The bantam jacks most likely have a different depth dimension than the 3.5mm jacks.

The Window Comparator should be doable.
I ditched the jack-mounting daughterboard and used flying wires to panel mounted jacks so that I could slim that module down to 1FU.

Not sure about the new version of the VCO... br> br>

br>flts

br>

Cat-A-Tonic wrote:

I imagine the HexZone would be difficult on account of the parallel mounting.
The bantam jacks most likely have a different depth dimension than the 3.5mm jacks.

Yeah, I was looking at the HexZone and looks from the picture it's built like most Euro modules these days, so probably not worth trying to convert.

Quote:

The Window Comparator should be doable.
I ditched the jack-mounting daughterboard and used flying wires to panel mounted jacks so that I could slim that module down to 1FU.
Not sure about the new version of the VCO...

Thanks, that's good to know. Window Comparator is particularly interesting to me - I suppose it has just the jacks and no extra components on the connector daughterboard?

I've been going through the Banana Frac thread and looks like a lot / most of modules would be somewhat doable, some newer ones (such as WC) tricky, and Hex Zone too much work to be worth it. br> br>

br>Cat-A-Tonic

br>

flts wrote:

Thanks, that's good to know. Window Comparator is particularly interesting to me - I suppose it has just the jacks and no extra components on the connector daughterboard?

Yes, no extra components on the daughterboard of Window Comparator.

Super VCA would be a very difficult conversion.

3120 (new) Frequency Divider should be doable.
One jack daughterboard includes a switch, but you could probably replace that with a panel mount pretty easily.

I don't have an FX/Reverb to check the backend of, but I'm guessing that would be a simple conversion like the WC.

SynthTech/MOTM modules should also be pretty easy to convert.
You *might* be able to get "DIY" boards directly from Paul S.

Micro LFO looks doable,
but you might have to fiddle with the mounting a bit.

I'm sure all of these would be easier to build with bantams from the beginning rather than hacking up assembled 3.5mm standard versions. br> br>

br>e-tron

br>I use bantam in my studio patchbay and love it for the shielding and
open lug strip access (maintenance, standard with older audio gear, custom wiring, etc...).

In modular gear, especially if one is to retrofit other modules (i.e. Blacet),
Isn't banana jack the more flexible option?

My question is, have any of you had noise/interference issues with modular that would require bantam standards?

normalizations aside, snake oil? br> br>

br>Cat-A-Tonic

br>^ I wonder about this too.

I think the biggest benefit of bananas is solid connections due to the much greater surface are of electrical contact, and the springy design.

The convenient stacking is awesome too of course.

1/4" and 3.5mm jacks both have contact issues sometimes,
which is incredibly annoying in a big spaghetti pile patch.
You have to wiggle lots of plugs to find the weak connection.
In a live situation this is even more of a nightmare.

Are bantams any better in this regard? br> br>

br>flts

br>I can't speak for others but the reason why I'm considering the conversion is that my main system is a Wiard 300 equipped with Bantam/TT connectors and I have a TT patchbay waiting for wiring to the rest of my home studio. I'm now considering a 3U rack system as an extension for the Wiard, and would be a really nice plus to not have to use adapter cables for cross-patching or connecting to computer. The alternative way of "downgrading" the Wiard to minijacks, or even adapting it to bananas, doesn't seem appealing at all.

Bananas are awesome, and I wouldn't mind building a Serge'ish self-contained sound lab with those one day (I was going to build a Bog + Swamp system something like two years ago but had to cancel the plan due to financial issues), but ultimately interfacing to other gear I have would be somewhat a hassle and I do like switched normalization for convenience. Then again, if I my "main instrument" was banana system, I'd probably try to convert any other stuff built around it to bananas as well.

As for Bantam/TT connectors themselves, I like a lot how they feel to patch, and feels like both connectors and cables will outlive minijack ones. I haven't had a single contact issue with Bantams so far (those issues are familiar with minijack systems), but that doesn't mean they couldn't and wouldn't eventually happen. As for balanced vs unbalanced, no idea if there is any practical / audible benefit in a home studio environment. br> br>

br>Cat-A-Tonic

br>

flts wrote:

I can't speak for others but the reason why I'm considering the conversion is that my main system is a Wiard 300 equipped with Bantam/TT connectors and I have a TT patchbay waiting for wiring to the rest of my home studio. I'm now considering a 3U rack system as an extension for the Wiard, and would be a really nice plus to not have to use adapter cables for cross-patching or connecting to computer. The alternative way of "downgrading" the Wiard to minijacks, or even adapting it to bananas, doesn't seem appealing at all.

Bananas are awesome, and I wouldn't mind building a Serge'ish self-contained sound lab with those one day (I was going to build a Bog + Swamp system something like two years ago but had to cancel the plan due to financial issues), but ultimately interfacing to other gear I have would be somewhat a hassle and I do like switched normalization for convenience. Then again, if I my "main instrument" was banana system, I'd probably try to convert any other stuff built around it to bananas as well.

As for Bantam/TT connectors themselves, I like a lot how they feel to patch, and feels like both connectors and cables will outlive minijack ones. I haven't had a single contact issue with Bantams so far (those issues are familiar with minijack systems), but that doesn't mean they couldn't and wouldn't eventually happen. As for balanced vs unbalanced, no idea if there is any practical / audible benefit in a home studio environment.

good answer br> br>

br>slow_riot

br>If it was up to me I wouldn't sell modules with minijacks, but necessity of survival means I need to bother with them.

Most hum and noise issues in audio systems can be traced to unbalanced connections, and this is usually avoided by using unsafe power connections such as removing earth pins. Or expensive output modules with transformers. All you need for balanced transmission lines is an extra resistor on the output and a dedicated opamp for receiving.

Greater surface area for mating in a connector is just not really an issue for low voltage/low current connections in audio and control signals. Bananas are rated for 2kV or so I've seen. If you are distributing power then really low resistance interconnects are essential but synth inputs and outputs are not doing that.

Yes, one of the other advantages is that TT is well specified without the contact issues of minijack.

Newer Blacet modules are not upgradeable to TT, that includes the Window Comparator.

Older ones there are some slight issues with panel flex, as the Blacet rack and faceplates are made of quite light metal which does not take too kindly to the greater insertion force required to insert and remove TT. br> br>